Jennifer and her "takht" ensemble will be performing a variety of Tarab music within the repertoire of classical female Egyptian vocalists, including Oum Kalthoum, Asmahan, Souad Mohammed, and more.
https://www.jennifergrout.com
https://www.facebook.com/jennigrout
Tuesday November 12, 2019
8:00pm - Jennifer Grout
9:00pm - Open Jam Session
Admission: $10
Doors at 7:30pm
SISTERS
You Can RSVP Here!!
Featuring:
Jennifer Grout - Vocals
Sami Abu Shumays - Violin
John Murchison - Qanun
Brian Prunka - Oud
Johnny Farraj - Riq
Gilbert Mansour - Darbuka
Jennifer, the American singer and luthist from Arab's Got Talent, grew up in a family of musicians and began her artistic career as a classical singer. A native of Boston, MA, she studied at Longy School of Music and Walnut Hill School for the Arts. Later, she attended McGill University in Montreal, Canada, where she obtained her bachelor's degree in classical voice. While living in Montreal, she developed a great interest in Arabic music; she learned to play the "oud" (Arabic lute) and began listening to well-known Arab singers such as Fairuz and Umm Kalthoum. She quickly became involved in the community of Arabic music in Montreal where she studied with several teachers, including Aziz Daouni, Zied Benamor and Mohamed Masmoudi, and picked up a side job of performing Arabic music regularly at a local Syrian restaurant called "Kaza Maza." Jennifer began an ongoing study of Tarab singing with Mr. Mohsen Soua, the administrator of an exclusive classical Arab vocal music forum called "Zaman Al Wasl." Throughout her studies, she also performed with the Michigan Arab Orchestra under Michael Ibrahim, and attended renowned Simon Shaheen's Arabic Music Retreat in Massachusetts, where she took voice lessons with Rima Khcheich and had her first solo debut.
In 2013, she had the chance to appear on MBC's Arab's Got Talent, singing pieces by Oum Kalthoum and Asmahan, and managed to come in second place. She went on to participate in several festivals in Morocco, such as Timitar, and other concerts abroad in Lebanon, Dubai, Kuwait, Tunisia, Canada, Qatar, and the USA. She has spent a large portion of her career in Morocco and has also been influenced by it's various musical styles.
Shelley Thomas (vocals, oud) performs exquisite Arabic songs from Egypt accompanied by Marwan Allam (bass), Nezih Antakli (riq) and Zafer Tawil (qanun). This special performance includes rare repertoire from Golden Era singers Nour al Houda, Asmahan, Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Oum Kalthoum and Leila Murad. Romantic poetry and complex song forms such as dawr and qasida pair with intricate microtonal modes (maqamat) to create the richly transportive effect of tarab (musical ecstasy).
Happy new year! For our first Brooklyn Maqam Hang of 2020, we are delighted to feature The Istanbul Trio (+special guests). They will present Turkish Maqam, Folk and Contemporary Music from Anatolia to Mesopotamia, exploring the interactions of Turkish music with it's wide array of influences from Armenian, Byzantine, Jewish and Middle Eastern cultures. 
